


let's be dangerous (surrender your heart)

by reddieforlove



Category: IT (2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Pennywise, First Meetings, Language, M/M, Panic Attacks, a reddie buzzfeed unsolved modern au, that will probably be somewhat ridiculous
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-24
Updated: 2018-02-18
Packaged: 2019-02-06 05:25:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12810567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reddieforlove/pseuds/reddieforlove
Summary: Eddie Kaspbrak graduated with a degree in journalism and set out to change the world. He isn't quite sure what to do when his new job puts him in unfamiliar territory aka the entertainment division of Buzzfeed. Throw in a great but strange friend group that includes one Richie Tozier and Eddie's life definitely derails from his best laid plans. When Richie comes to him with a crazy idea for a new video series that he wants them to partner up for, Eddie tentatively agrees without knowing that it'll put him wildly outside of his comfort zone but also in a position where his true feelings for Richie quickly rise to the surface, much to his own surprise.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: None of these characters or any recognizable plotlines/quotes belong to me.
> 
> Fic Title: Afraid of the Dark - MKTO
> 
> This is my very first Reddie fic. Full disclaimer: I haven't read the It novel in years and I've only seen the 2017 movie twice so this is very much based on my impressions of the newest film's characters as well as the characterizations that have stood out to me while reading other fanfic. That being said, it may take me a while to really settle in with the characters and find their voices so please be gentle with me.
> 
> This fic is obviously aged up with the characters all in their early twenties. Rating may change along the way but since I really have no idea where I'm going with this, I can't say for sure.

The New York offices of Buzzfeed were just what Eddie Kaspbrak imagined they’d be when he first applied for a job. Aside from the occasional article that popped up on his feed, he didn’t pay much attention to the site until graduating college meant finding a job. He always imagined using his journalism major to do some good in the world, maybe use his experiences to help bring awareness to some important stuff, but it turned out that following his dreams and paying the bills didn’t always align.

“You lost kid?” a gruff voice came from his right just as Eddie wrinkled his nose at the painfully yellow walls of the main room where he’d been directed by a very disinterested receptionist who didn’t seem to give a damn that it was his first day.

He turned, meeting the gaze of an impatient looking older man carrying a coffee in one hand and a tablet in the other. In Eddie’s mind, this person was out of place in a work environment that he assumed was filled with mostly twenty-somethings like himself. The critical look in the man’s eye caused his chest to tighten ever-so-slightly and his hand to twitch towards the pocket of his pants that held his inhaler. Eddie knew that it didn’t do anything really but certain habits were pretty much impossible to break, especially when an attack came on.

“No sir,” he managed to choke out, his heart picking up pace for no real reason at all. “Maybe. I work here now but I don’t know where to go.”

The man’s grey eyes narrowed, making him look even more intimidating. Eddie nearly shuddered with the effort it took not to retrieve his inhaler.

“Kaspbrak?”

The sound of his last name stunned him out of the near attack and Eddie blinked several times before nodding. The man huffed, looking him up and down several times before shaking his head.

“I’ll be damned,” he said, almost sounding amused. “HR told me I’d be getting a new one but I didn’t think they were hiring straight outta junior high.”

“I’m twenty-two,” Eddie said, his eyebrows drawing together in a frown.

He was used to people misjudging his age based on his annoyingly youthful appearance but somehow he hoped that his pressed khakis and brand new messenger bag might just make him look professional enough not to be underestimated. Apparently he was wrong. The man made another huffing noise before reaching out a large hand. Eddie forced himself not to flinch away and fought back a grimace as his mind, completely without his permission, recited the number of germs that could be transferred by a handshake. It was unavoidable in the professional world, something he quickly learned when doing interviews.

“Welcome to the circus,” the man said, looking even more amused as Eddie reached out to shake his hand. “Name’s James Wilson.”

Eddie suddenly realized that this was his supervisor and swallowed hard, hoping that his eyes didn’t get too wide and his voice too high.

“I’m looking forward to working here, sir,” he said with no small amount of nerves in his voice.

James Wilson simply snorted, stepping around Eddie in a way that made it clear that he expected to be followed.

“I guess we’ll see how long that lasts,” Eddie’s new boss said, making his way across the large main room to a glass-walled office. “Talk to me about what you can write, kid.”

As Eddie launched into a description of some of the things he wrote while working for his college’s newspaper, he inwardly prayed that the hardest part was just about over. Despite the fact that he vocalized his desire to be in the news division of Buzzfeed in his interview, he was instead placed in the new yet rapidly developing entertainment division, which put him firmly out of his comfort zone. It was highly likely that every new employee who had yet to prove themselves ended up there but Eddie still felt somewhat like he was getting thrown to the wolves. Mr. Wilson had given him a run through of what happened during an average week and told him that his work at first would be slow until they figured out where he fit. Then he led him directly to a tall man who had to be around Eddie’s age. There was a confident smile on his handsome face as he turned to greet them.

“Bill Denbrough,” he said, reaching his hand out before Mr. Wilson could speak up to introduce them.

“Eddie Kaspbrak.”

Bill was definitely less intimidating than their boss and there was something about his demeanor that put Eddie at ease as they shook hands.

“You’ll be shadowing him for the week. Bill’ll show you the ropes.”

With that, Mr. Wilson walked away, leaving a wide-eyed Eddie and an amused Bill in his wake.

“H-he’s like that,” Bill said, shrugging one shoulder dismissively. “You won’t see much of him outside of m-m-mandatory meetings.”

“That’s a loose definition of boss,” Eddie muttered.

Bill heard anyway and laughed, nodding his head.

“It makes f-for a pretty free, creative workplace but the d-downside is Richie.”

“Richie?”

“Richie,” Bill said, nodding as if the name alone explained all that anyone needed to know. “C’mon, I’ll sh-show you around.”

Eddie didn’t ask about Richie again as they began walking around the floor, assuming he would find out more later. There wasn’t much to see outside of the main floor. Bill showed him the small desk that would be Eddie’s before taking him to the large break room where a few people were mingling around the coffee machine. Then a few vending machines, a big kitchen, and a few private meeting rooms with lazy chairs and large screens on one wall. He couldn’t quite hide his mixture of amusement and disdain of the large black words printed on the ugly yellow walls such as **WTF** and **OMG**. Luckily Bill seemed to agree with him, shaking his head when Eddie snorted.

They met up with a few of Bill’s friends along the tour and they were all equally as welcoming. It wasn’t until they found their way back to the main working area that a whooping figure ran past and distracted Bill from chatting about the bimonthly proposal meetings where any employee could put forth an idea about something new for approval. Eddie’s head snapped around on instinct just as the dark-haired, lanky person with thick-framed glasses took an ill advised leap onto an already spinning desk chair. No one was surprised when he tumbled off of it, nearly putting his head through the **TGIF** printed wall, but he thrust his fists over his head as if he achieved some great feat.

“Beautiful,” Stan, one of Bill’s friends, piped up from where he sat at his desk with a smirk.

“Funny, that’s what your mom said about my dick last night.”

“Beep beep, Richie,” Bill called out, shaking his head.

And suddenly Eddie understood exactly why Richie was an explanation in and of himself.

* * *

_“Where the fuck did you come from, cutie?”_

It was hard for Eddie to forget the first words that Richie Tozier spoke to him and, if possible, even harder to forget his own response

_“Your sister’s bed.”_

That very first interaction would set a precedent. The way the others talked about Richie, especially Stan and Bill who had known him the longest, Eddie knew that teasing and needling at people was one of his favorite past times and no one was on the receiving end of that more than his own friends. It was all done in good humor, they were quick to assure him, but it may take some getting used to. What they didn’t expect was for Eddie to give as good as he got. Maybe it was the challenge he presented but suddenly he was the focus of Richie’s nearly endless chatter for the majority of the time in and outside of the office.

Eddie was so used to the sound of Richie’s voice after eight months of working at Buzzfeed, having even adopted the use of “beep beep” to let him know when he went too far, that when Richie stole a chair from an empty desk and dragged it over to Eddie’s own, he prepared himself for an onslaught of words. Instead Richie simply sat there, making no noise other than the drumming of his fingers on the edge of Eddie’s desk. It was impossible to focus on the article that he was writing with Richie sitting that close, nervous energy rolling off of him in very noticeable waves.

“What?” Eddie said, darting his eyes to Richie before focusing on his computer again.

“I have an idea.”

“Should I alert the media?” he asked.

Richie clicked his tongue and sat back in his chair, remaining uncharacteristically quiet. Eddie had the feeling that he was trying not to rise to the bait of a verbal sparring match because he wanted something. With his curiosity undeniable piqued and the heavy weight of Richie’s eyes on the side of his face, Eddie stilled his hands on the keyboard and let out a resigned sigh.

“You have an idea?”

“A video series,” Richie said, straightening just a little from his slouch.

Eddie turned to look at him, feeling rather confused.

“Why are you telling me?”

“I want you to do it with me,” Richie said.

He let out a scoff, pushing his chair back to stand.

“No.”

Richie wasn’t at all discouraged, leaping up to follow him as he walked towards the break room to refill his bottle of water. Eddie had come to terms with his height during sophomore year of college but what he wouldn’t give to have longer legs if it meant sometimes being able to outwalk one Richard Tozier. Unfortunately Richie was able to keep up with him effortlessly.

“It’ll be great,” he insisted.

“It’s a terrible idea,” Eddie said with a shake of his head.

“You haven’t even heard my pitch, Eddie Spaghetti.”

“Don’t call me that. Does it involve us spending every day in close quarters filming in front of a camera for all the world to see?”

“Yep,” Richie said.

“Absolutely fucking not,” Eddie told him.

Richie was undeterred, following him all the way into the break room.

“It’ll be the easiest thing you’ve ever done. All we have to do is sit in front of a camera and I tell you stories about true crime and paranormal experiences that are unsolved while you react appropriately.”

Eddie paused in unscrewing the top of his bottle, turning to face him.

“Unsolved mysteries?” he said.

Richie nodded several times and it was easy to see that he was practically vibrating with excitement.

“Why not Ben? He loves this kind of thing,” Eddie said, wondering why he was being approached for this.

“Ben already knows about all of the shit I’ll be talking about,” Richie said with a wave of his hand. “I need someone fresh to bounce the stories off of.”

“Bill? Stan? Bev? Mike?” Eddie listed his friends.

“I don’t want-” Richie huffed, blowing his hair away from his forehead as he leaned back on the counter.

He didn’t say anything else for a long time, folding his arms over his chest.

“I think you’re the best person to do it with me,” he finally mumbled.

Eddie stood still for a while, trying to reconcile Richie’s words in his mind before responding. As much as he wanted to refuse again, and again and again after that if Richie decided to be particularly persistent, Eddie realized that this was something Richie clearly felt passionate about even if it was a barely formed idea.

“Do you have a plan for it?” he asked.

Richie shrugged, making his answer clear.

“I don’t want it too scripted, we don’t need that shit,” he said.

Eddie considered it for another long minute before blowing out a heavy sigh.

“I’ll help you come up with a pitch,” he allowed and Richie’s perked up a little. “That’s all I’m doing for now. If it gets picked up, we can talk.”

He didn’t really know why he was agreeing to this much but when he saw Richie’s eyes light up, a warmth accompanied the curious flutter in his heart. Richie crossed to Eddie in two long strides and pressed a smacking kiss to forehead.

“You’re a damn hero, Eds,” he said, pointing at him with both hands as he backed out of the room.

“Fuck you,” Eddie said, shaking his head as he turned towards the water cooler.

“Sorry cutie, I can’t. I already promised your mom a few good rounds tonight.”

“Beep beep, Richie!”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own any recognizable characters/plots/dialogue from either It or Buzzfeed Unsolved. Some quotes are taken directly from both source materials and I want to make it clear that they do not belong to me.
> 
> I'm sorry it took me a while to update. I promise I'll try to get future chapters out quicker. It just took me a while to figure out how I wanted to get them from coming up with the idea to actually getting it approved and starting it up while also injecting a little UST into it all.
> 
> The episode of BU mentioned in this chapter is [this one](https://www.buzzfeed.com/watch/video/4230?utm_term=.xf93VGQK4#.yvrXmdPvb), the actual first.
> 
> I hope that you like it!

“Stop!”

As Richie’s voice rang out everyone in his vicinity stilled instantly, including Eddie who had been making his way towards his desk. He turned his head, eyes wide, only to see that Richie’s attention was fixed on him.

“Stay right there,” Richie instructed, lifting his hands as if he was centering Eddie in a nonexistent picture frame.

Their co-workers were mostly smiling or laughing by now, all having caught onto whatever Richie was up to. Eddie was still clueless, looking around in the hopes that someone may explain. Then Richie began to pat the pockets of his ripped jeans and Eddie started to wonder if he had officially lost his marbles.

“Fuck! I don’t have my phone!” he lamented, gesturing at the people around him. “Someone take a picture.”

Beverly did just that, a wide smile on her face as she didn’t even try to hide that she was indulging Richie. She shrugged one shoulder at Eddie’s look of betrayal, setting her phone down again. Richie looked beyond satisfied, with a grin on his face and his arms crossed loosely as he leaned lazily against Bill’s desk.

“What the fuck is going on?” Eddie finally asked, tired of the shared smiles and the joke he apparently didn’t get.

“Don’t worry your pretty little head about it, Eds,” Richie said.

Eddie wasn’t convinced, narrowing his eyes angrily.

“B-b-behind you,” Bill finally said, taking pity on him.

He turned around quickly, his eyes immediately falling on the word that was printed on the wall right over his head.

**CUTE**

“Cute, cute, cute!” Richie crowed.

“Fuck off,” Eddie huffed as he whirled around and continued on to his desk, hating that he’d fallen for it. “Don’t you have a proposal to be working on, dumbass?”

“ _We,_ Eddie dearest,” Richie said, grinning as he followed right behind him. “Didn’t forget, did you?”

“I wish I could,” he grumbled, sinking into his desk chair.

He didn’t dare to hope that turning his back on Richie would make him go away. Sure enough, he leaned on Eddie’s desk in a much more deliberate way than he had Bill’s, one hand planted by Eddie’s keyboard as he bent down towards him.

“Don’t be like that, Eds. You know you love me.”

Eddie made the mistake of turning his head to glare at them and froze in place when the movement put them almost nose to nose. Richie always had the habit of disregarding societal norms when it came to personal space but this was taking things to a whole other level. All that Eddie could do was hope that his cheeks weren’t as hot as they felt. He would never hear the end of it if Richie thought that he was blushing. It was just the annoyance rising in his chest that brought color to his cheeks. Eddie couldn’t help it if every strong emotion showed on his face in one way or another.

“Is there anything I can say to get you to leave me alone?” he asked, remaining right where he was even though he knew that he should put some distance between the two of them.

It was almost a game of chicken, to see who would give up first. Anyone else would have known better than to silently challenge Richie to anything but a good chunk of their friendship, if one could call near constant insults and bickering friendship, was built on who could be more stubborn, leading them to many moments such as this one.

“Nothing at all,” Richie said, grinning at him.

Before Eddie could say another word, Richie pressed a sloppy kiss to his forehead and turned away, whistling as he sauntered back to his desk. Though he wasn’t the first to break away from the staredown, Eddie definitely didn’t feel like he won that round as he wiped at his forehead with his sleeve and shook his head at Richie’s ridiculous antics. It was only a day and a half later as Eddie was packing up to go home that something was slammed down on his desk, making him jump up and whirl around to see who had the nerve, as if he didn’t already know.

“What the fuck, Richie?”

“Two bottles to share with my partner to be and our lovely friends,” he said with a dramatic bow in his horrible British voice as the others drifted over curiously. “The time has come to celebrate.”

“You got the green li-light?” Bill asked as Eddie glanced over at the two bottles of wine that were sitting on his desk.

“Were there any doubts? I had everyone in that room eating out of the palm of my hand by the time I was done with the proposal,” Richie said, looking remarkably like a preening peacock. “One day you’ll all have to tell the world just how much of a genius your best friend Richie is.”

Eddie snorted as Bill laughed outright and Mike and Ben tried to hide their smiles.

“Sure, Rich,” Stan said with a smirk as Bev reached past Eddie to pick up one of the bottles. “You know we’re always willing to lie for you.”

Richie pouted dramatically at Stan.

“This is some cheap shit you got,” Bev said.

“I’m not made of money, Miss Marsh. You’re lucky it’s not boxed,” he said with a shrug.

“We can go back to my place. My roommate is gone for the weekend,” Mike offered.

Everyone else nodded in agreement and all began walking out together with Eddie bringing up the rear, his jacket slung over his arm. He didn’t get far before Richie hung back to walk with him, tossing his arm over Eddie’s shoulders.

“We’ll be superstars, Eddie Spaghetti,” he said dreamily, ignoring Eddie’s scowl. “The whole fucking world is gonna love us.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Oh don’t be nervous, Eds. I know it may be intimidating to be on camera with this pretty face but I promise they’ll all love your cute little self,” Richie punctuated his words by reaching over to pinch his cheek.

Eddie responded by driving his elbow into Richie’s side but that did very little to dissuade him. He only pulled him in closer, his laughter filling the air as they reached the elevators.

* * *

A few hours later had them all spread around Mike’s small living room. Bill, Stan, and Eddie were squished into the one couch while Beverly was perched atop Ben’s lap in the armchair. They all felt guilty about leaving Mike without a seat in his own home but he simply brushed away their concerns as he sat in front of Bill. Absolutely no one felt guilty about Richie having to sit on the floor, however, and it took a while before he let any of them hear the end of it.

“See if I buy any of you wine ever again,” he grumbled as he collapsed in front of Eddie who adjusted his legs so that his shoulders could fit between them.

“We all know you just bought it for you and Eddie anyway,” Bev said, smirking over the rim of her glass.

Neither of them responded to that but if Eddie’s cheeks were a little pinker and Richie’s eyes a little brighter, that was just because of the wine.

“What’s your first video going to be?” Ben asked, looking like he might have been in heaven as Beverly stroked her fingers through the hairs at the nape of his neck.

“Well I don’t know Haystack,” Richie said, swirling his wine around the glass in a way that made Eddie fear for Mike’s carpet. “What do you think it should be?”

Ben looked thrilled that he was asked, grinning widely as he began to throw out suggestions. Eddie barely listened even though this was his project now too. Richie would undoubtedly choose the most interesting case to start with and Eddie would have very little to say about it. His job now, outside of the writing he already did, was to sit and listen to him rant on about one unsolved mystery or another while throwing out the occasional comment. He found himself sipping at the glass in his hand as he stared down at the dark curls that covered Richie’s head, his mind drifting. Eddie had only ever had two boyfriends since coming out. They were a lot like one another with quiet voices and soft smiles. They were safe and easy, making Eddie think that he had something like a type. So why was he two glasses in and wondering what it would feel like to run his fingers through Richie’s hair? It had to be the cheap wine because this definitely was _not_ his type.

“What d’you think Eddie?”

His head snapped up at Ben’s question.

“What?” he asked, hating that everyone except Richie was staring at him.

Of course Richie glanced over his shoulder at that, grinning at him.

“Are you a lightweight, Eds?” he asked, sounding delighted.

He scoffed, rolling his eyes and ignoring the question before focusing on Ben.

“What do I think of what?” he asked.

“The Somerton Man,” Richie answered instead of Ben, his voice deep and ominous.

“Never heard of him,” Eddie said.

“Isn’t that the p-p-point?” Bill asked, holding his glass out so that Stan, never the big drinker, could pour what remained of his wine in there. “That Eddie d-doesn’t know what you’re talking about?”

“Yep,” Richie said.

They all left it at that and Eddie shrugged it off, leaning back into the cushion behind him as he took another drink. As the others began tossing out suggestions for some things they could do to make the videos more exciting than just reciting some facts about old cold cases, Eddie forced himself not to focus on Richie, not wanting his thoughts to wander back to that strange place. It was only when the others began to gather themselves that Richie squeezed his ankle to get his attention.

“You’re headed over to Brooklyn, right?” he asked, peering over his shoulder at Eddie.

He nodded in response, wondering where this was going.

“Share a taxi?” Richie suggested, pushing to his feet. “I don’t really want to take the train tonight.”

“Yeah,” Eddie said dumbly, feeling warm and loose as he shifted forward on the couch to stand as well.

He, more than anyone, could understand Richie’s unwillingness to take the train late at night. It was one of Eddie’s least favorite things to do in the city. There was no telling whether taxis were any cleaner but at least he didn’t have to worry about a homeless man possibly peeing on him in the backseat of one. Other than him, Richie was the only one of their friend group who didn’t live in Manhattan so it made sense.

“Thanks for this, Mike,” he heard Beverly say and forced himself to focus on the conversation.

“I was glad for the company,” Mike said, grinning at Richie and Eddie. “Congrats on this guys, seriously. You’re gonna do great.”

He followed up his words with a gentle squeeze of their shoulders, looking genuinely happy for them.

“Thanks, Mikey,” Richie said, beaming at him.

“Thank you, Mike,” Eddie said too, giving him a small smile before heading towards the door with the others.

Once they made it to the sidewalk, they all walked down the street to the busier part of the neighborhood. Beverly and Ben caught a taxi back to her place as Stan and Bill decided to walk the seven blocks to their shared apartment. Richie and Eddie were left to find another taxi, which came along quickly much to their relief. Once they slid into the back and told the driver to head for Brooklyn, Eddie laid his head against the seat and watched the buildings and people pass by.

“Hey,” Richie said after a while, nudging his shoulder.

“Hmm?” Eddie looked over at him, expecting a joke or something.

“Thanks for this, seriously.”

He stared for a long few moments, unsure of what to say.

“For sharing a cab?” Eddie asked.

Richie shook his head, running a hand through his hair.

“Agreeing to do the series with me. I know it’s not your thing but it’s just… I’m really fucking excited about it and I’m glad you’re doing it with me,” he said.

Eddie might have stared for a little longer or cracked a joke if he didn’t think that Richie was actually being real and serious for once.

“It’s a really good idea, Rich,” he said.

A grin broke out on Richie’s face and Eddie knew what was coming before it happened, leaning away with a groan.

“That’s what your mom said last night when I told her we should-”

“Beep fucking beep!”

* * *

Monday morning found Eddie walking into a bizarre room that he didn’t even know existed in the building where he worked. Some strange stuff happened at Buzzfeed in the name of entertainment, to be sure, but the room had almost had the look of an interrogation room in a procedural cop show with a metal table and a single lightbulb hanging down from the ceiling that would definitely be visible in any shot. It wasn’t the only lighting in the room but it certainly added a creep flair to it. Eddie had to assume that was the point. Richie was practically vibrating with excitement next to him. It wasn’t until they were sitting at the table and someone was setting up a camera on a tripod on the other side of the room that it really sunk in what they were about to do. Richie was chatting away with one of the other people in the room as Eddie tugged at the collar of his shirt and did his best not to look as nervous as he felt.

“Everyone ready?” one of the video guys asked, clapping his hands to get their attention.

Eddie practically jumped out of his skin at the sound, earning a weird look from Richie.

“You have your pages, Tozier? Know what you’re saying?”

“Yeah,” he said, holding up the stapled papers.

The only part of the video that would be scripted was the actual story that they were telling. Eddie didn’t have a paper with the words he was supposed to say. Maybe this would be easier if he did. Richie was the actor, not him. Richie knew how to do this shit, not him. What the _hell_ was he doing here?

“Let’s get this going then,” the same guy said, leaning against the wall opposite them.

Eddie glanced around nervously at the five other people in the room before staring directly at the camera. Before he knew it, his chest was feeling tight.

“Did you ever hear the story about the man on Somerton Beach?”

Richie’s voice sounded distant as Eddie fought to take a breath past his rising panic. He’d left his inhaler at his desk. There was no reason to think that he’d need it. This was supposed to be a five minute video. Nothing more. So why couldn’t he breathe?

“Eds?”

He couldn’t stop letting his eyes dart from the camera to the other people in the room and back, feeling overwhelming observed.

“Hey,” Richie’s hand touched his where it gripped the edge of the table where they sat. “Talk to me, Eddie. What’s going on?”

Eddie shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment.

“Too many people,” he managed to wheeze out, not wanting to see the reaction to his panic attack. “I can’t-I can’t breathe.”

A moment passed before Richie was talking to the others.

“Do you guys need to be in here?” he asked, his voice almost demanding.

“We usually stick around to help with lighting and stuff,” one of the guys said.

“We’re literally just sitting at this table and talking. Do we need more than the camera for that?” Richie asked.

“I… guess not.”

“Then shut it off and go. We can do this without you.”

Eddie heard shuffling and the sound of a door closing. Opening his eyes, he saw that they were alone in the room again. But that damn camera was still focused right one him.

“That better?” Richie asked, sounding concerned.

The tension in his chest eased up just a little bit he still couldn’t fight the realization that this was going to really be put out there for the world to see. Richie may have been a performer and used to this kind of thing but Eddie didn’t really know if he could do this knowing that anyone could watch it. He was a typically private person and this was definitely dragging him way out of his comfort zone.

“I-I don’t know if I can do this, Richie,” he said, shaking his head. “I can’t… so many people…”

“No,” Richie said.

Before Eddie knew it, Richie’s hands were on his face and his head was being turned away from the camera. His panic shot up for just a moment before his eyes focused on Richie’s, who was staring back at him with determination.

“It’s just you and me, Eds. No one else,” Richie said, refusing to allow him to look away. “We’re just talking, yeah? I’m just telling you a story and that’s it.”

Eddie felt more of the pressure on his chest ease up, nodding in response. It wasn’t quite enough to calm him completely.

“C’mon, Eddie. You gotta work with me here,” Richie said, his hands still cupping Eddie’s cheeks. “Breathe with me.”

He took several deep breaths before Eddie finally managed to match his breaths, inhaling and exhaling slowly until the panic finally ebbed away and he felt himself relaxing into his seat.

“You good? You with me?” Richie asked after a minute or so.

Eddie nodded, feeling somewhat drained now that it was all done with.

“Fuck, Eds,” he sighed, his hands dropping to Eddie’s shoulders. “Scared the shit out of me.”

“Sorry,” Eddie said, feeling humiliated now that it was all over.

“No,” Richie said, shaking his head.

He stared at him, unsure of what that meant.

“Nothing to be sorry for,” Richie explained, reaching up to cup his cheek more gently than before. “I got an idea. Let’s just record our voices over the pictures and shit for the first few until you get used to it, yeah? Then we can try the video again.”

Eddie didn’t really know what to say.

“You sure they’ll be okay with that?” he finally asked.

“It’s our damn idea,” Richie said, shrugging at him. “They can be okay with it or they can cancel it.”

Eddie stared at him for a long few moments before nodding, still not quite sure what to do with the fact that Richie was willing to screw with his entire idea just to make him feel more comfortable doing it.

“Great,” Richie said with a grin, pulling his phone out to drop it on the table, opening a podcast recording app. “Let’s fucking do this.”

“Yeah, let’s do it,” Eddie said, rubbing his palms on his jeans.

It was a little less nerve-wracking, just recording his voice.

“Did you ever hear the story about the man on Somerton Beach?” Richie asked again after propping his legs up on the table with his script in his lap.

“Uh… no,” Eddie said, shaking his head.

“Well it’s one of the most mysterious and creepy cold cases of all time so buckle the fuck up, Eddie Spaghetti.”

Richie winked at him before launching into the story and Eddie couldn’t even bring himself to correct the use of the annoying nickname. When they got to the part where the investigators couldn’t identify the man found dead on a beach in Australia by his fingerprints, Eddie squinted at Richie and interrupted him.

“Are your fingerprints in a database?” he asked, pulling one knee up to his chest as he tilted his head in question.

Richie stared at him for a moment, looking surprised by the question.

“Don’t they do it when you’re born?” he said.

Eddie nearly laughed, shaking his head.

“No!”

“Are you sure?”

“Jesus, Richie. They don’t fucking fingerprint you when you’re born,” Eddie said, finally unable to keep from laughing.

Richie let out a laugh as well, shaking his head.

“Well,” he continued, looking down at his papers again. “Either way his fingerprints were unidentifiable…”

Just like that, they settled into their usual push and pull with a bit of sarcastic humor and the rest of the recording was a breeze. An hour after finishing the editing of the video, including pictures of the aforementioned Somerton Man, their very first video was posted on Buzzfeed as well as YouTube with links on Twitter and Facebook. Richie was sat at his desk with Eddie perched on the arm of his chair and the rest of their friends gathered around, all waiting on the notification that it had been posted.

“There it is!” Beverly said excitedly.

Richie grinned over at Eddie, who smiled back before nodding at him to open it.

“Lady and gents, this is Buzzfeed Unsolved,” Richie said, clicking the play button on the video.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would love to hear what you think!
> 
> tumblr - [reddieforlove](https://reddieforlove.tumblr.com/)  
> twitter - [reddieforlove](https://twitter.com/reddieforlove)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eddie and Richie film another episode. They go to breakfast together. Eddie has a realization.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so so sorry that it's been forever since I updated this. I just now got the inspiration back for the fic so hopefully updates will come faster from here on out.
> 
> This is not a slow burn fic. That will become incredibly clear after this chapter. I hope you don't mind.

**0:00**

“Before we get into this week’s mystery-”

Eddie shook his head, already knowing where Richie was going with this. They’d discussed the comments on their first video at least half a dozen times and he thought they came to an agreement. Apparently Richie was just biding his time.

“Stop,” he said, glaring at Richie.

“I want to address a few comments that were left on our first video,” Richie continued as if he hadn’t spoken.

“Richie,” Eddie said in a low voice.

“Firstly…”

“We’re not doing this.”

“Thank you to all of our subscribers and to everyone who gave us suggestions about what cases we should talk about. Seventy percent of them are bomb ass, twenty percent are already solved, and the other ten percent fucking suck.”

Eddie sighed, rubbing at his eyes with the heels of his hands.

“No one is going to watch these videos if you keep insulting the viewers,” he said wearily.

It was the end of the week and they had been so busy with all of their other duties that this was the only time they could sit down and actually record themselves, right at the end of the workday on Friday when they should have been getting ready to leave.

“They seem to like when you insult me,” Richie said, and Eddie could hear in his voice that he was smirking.

“Well it should tell you something that they’ve heard you speak for all of five minutes and they already know that you deserve it,” Eddie said, dropping his hands.

“Yowza!” Richie exclaimed with a laugh. “Eddie Spaghetti gets in a good one. Anyway, where was I?”

Eddie was half tempted to rip the notes out of his hands if it didn’t mean that this would take even longer. All he wanted to do was go home to a hot cup of tea and his comfortable couch.

“Aha! I remember!”

He winced at Richie’s loud voice.

“Jesus fucking Christ, Richie. They just heard you three floors down.”

Richie patted his shoulder without looking up.

“In honor of every single commenter who decided to correct us on our pronunciation of the word pasty, I will do the rest of this video in a certain voice of mine,” he announced.

That was it, Eddie had to put his foot down.

“No.”

“Allo good chaps!”

“This isn’t happening.”

“Cheer up, Eds. We got a bit o’ murder to discuss, we do,” Richie said, grinning up at him as he spoke in his terrible British guy accent.

Eddie was terrible at putting his foot down.

“I hate you,” he said, switching gears.

“Lies do not become you, sweet Eds,” Richie said before looking down at his notes. “Now I am not one to be dramatic-”

Eddie snorted, shaking his head.

“But this story is even fucking creepier than the last one and I’ll probably have nightmares tonight,” Richie said.

“Stop doing that voice.”

“On the evening of March 31, 1922, six residents of the Hinterkaifeck Farm in Bavaria, Germany were murdered with a pickaxe.”

Eddie let out a deep sigh, leaning back in his chair.

**0:45**

“I couldn’t find a really credible news source of this happening but there are so many accounts of it happening online that it obviously happened.”

“This might not even be real?” Eddie said.

“There’s pictures,” Richie told him.

“Rich, you work at Buzzfeed. You know that pictures can be doctored.”

Not only did he know it, but he managed to photoshop everyone in their group into different ridiculous pictures in a horrifyingly convincing way. This week, Beverly was the lead singer at Moulin Rouge.

“These are not doctored,” Richie said with certainty, still using that damn voice.

“Let’s keep going,” Eddie said, knowing that they could easily argue about this for the next ten minutes.

**1:43**

“So for some reason, the two-year-old and the family maid were murdered in their beds and left there. But the rest of the family was found in the barn stacked on top of each other.”

“What?” Eddie said, cutting Richie off not even a minute later.

“Yeah,” he said with a nod.

“They were stacked on top of each other?”

“Like a really morbid pile of pancakes,” Richie said.

“That’s fucking disgusting. I’m never eating pancakes again.”

“And you say I’m the dramatic one.”

**2:19**

“This is where shit starts to get fucking creepy,” Richie announced, shuffling his papers for a moment before finding his place again. “Whoever did this actually stayed in the house for several days after the murdered the family.”

Eddie gave him a horrified look.

“What the fuck?” he said, feeling disgusted.

“Yeah, apparently in the week following the murders, the farm was still being taking care of and someone was eating in the kitchen,” Richie said.

“I can see why he put the family in the barn.”

“ _Stacked_ the family, Eds.”

“Don’t you dare say anything about pancakes.”

“You wouldn’t want to eat around dead people either, Eddie?”

“No I fucking would not.”

“So you would also make the corpse sandwich in the barn?”

“I really do hate you.”

**3:07**

“So another creepy detail is that the family maid, Maria, had only been hired that day to replace the previous maid who quit six months before due to the house being haunted,” Richie said after making four more food jokes and dodging a pencil thrown his way. “Do you want to know some of the things that caused the other maid to quit?”

“No,” Eddie said with a shake of his head.

“She quit because she was hearing footsteps in the attic and voices,” he said, ignoring Eddie yet again. “Classic ghost story shit.”

“Well it sounds to me like she was the only person smart enough to get the fuck out of there,” Eddie said.

“I haven’t even told you about the footsteps in the snow yet,” Richie said.

“It’s okay if you don’t, though.”

**3:51**

“Another crazy fucking fact to round out this family’s terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad week is that when their heads were removed to be studied in the autopsy, they were lost.”

Eddie blinked at Richie, wondering if he heard wrong. Thankfully, the British voice had slowly tapered off as they got more into the story.

“They were lost?” he repeated.

“Yeah. The family had to be buried headless.”

“How do you lose six heads?”

“I guess things just get lost, Eds,” Richie shrugged.

“They’re heads!”

**4:35**

“So, give us your thoughts in the comments. Who do you think made the panini of death?”

“You are the worst fucking person I know.”

“The waffle stack from hell.”

“I hope you have nightmares, asshole.”

“Believe it or not, Eddie does love me.”

“Don’t lie to the listeners, Rich.”

“You loooove me.”

“I’m leaving now.”

“This has been Buzzfeed Unsolved. Let us know in the comments what creepy unsolved mystery you want to see next.”

“Or you can just ask for Richie’s head to be removed and lost by the coroner,” Eddie suggested.

“You’d miss me too much, Eds,” Richie said, reaching out to toss his arm around Eddie’s shoulders.

“Not likely, Trashmouth,” he said.

**END RECORDING**

With a grin, Richie reached out to press the end button on the podcast app.

“I think that went pretty well,” he said, standing up and stretching his arms over his head.

“At what point do you think we’ll get struck down by lightning for laughing about dead people?” Eddie asked, looking up at him.

Richie shrugged, slipping his phone into his pocket.

“If it hasn’t happened yet, I think we’re in the clear,” he said as Eddie stood up. “Do you wanna meet tomorrow and edit the video? There’s a diner on 86th I’ve been wanting to try out.”

They stepped out into the hall as Eddie considered it and found it mostly empty, proving that they stayed past the usual working hours.

“Sounds good. You can buy me one of the seven coffees you owe me,” he agreed.

“I’ll buy you a nice _stack_ of pancakes and we can call it even.”

“Don’t make me regret this, Richie.”

“Pip pip and tally ho, Mr. K! We have a train to catch!” Richie all but yelled, using that ridiculous voice again.

Eddie’s responding groan echoed through the hallway.

* * *

“So what do you think we should do next?” Richie asked, absentmindedly sipping at a cup of coffee as he kept his eyes on his computer screen, editing the video as he talked to Eddie.

It wasn’t so much that Richie was good at multitasking but rather that he refused to do anything but. He liked to keep himself busy when his brain was firing on all cylinders and Eddie didn’t blame him for it.

“Something modern,” Eddie said with a shrug, scraping the last bit of his scrambled eggs together.

He had staunchly refused to order pancakes or waffles, glaring at Richie over his menu as if daring the other man to say a single thing about it. He simply got eggs and bacon, both of which Richie kept trying to steal bites of until Eddie demanded that he order his own or risk getting his hand stabbed with a fork if he tried to reach across the table one more time. That was when Richie declared that Eddie was bitchy in the morning and got himself a stack of chocolate chip pancakes covered in whipped cream.

“What do you mean?” Richie asked, dipping his finger in the last of said whipped cream before licking it away.

“The first two videos were about cases from years ago. I think we should cover something more recent. If it happened in present day, sometimes it makes it a little creepier,” Eddie said, shrugging his shoulders.

It was just a suggestion. He didn’t expect Richie’s eyes to light up as he looked up at Eddie over the computer.

“That’s a good idea, Eds. A modern mystery to really freak the shit out of ‘em.”

Eddie tried to hide his smile as he finished off his bacon. He wasn’t even sure why it made him the slightest bit giddy.

“C’mere,” Richie said after a few minutes, scooting over on the booth to give Eddie room. “See what you think of this.”

He started to suggest that Richie simply turn the computer around but knew that it wasn’t worth the argument that was bound to ensue. Eddie slid out of the booth only to drop next to Richie to look at whatever part of the video he was editing. They were still doing just sound with pictures, which worked for Eddie just fine. Richie was good at creating the perfect graphics, pictures, and subtitles to go along with the mix of story and banter.

“Is this where we talk about the missing heads?” Eddie asked.

“Yep,” Richie said before letting out a snort. “Did you ever think you’d get to a place in your job where we casually talk about missing heads?”

“I will never casually talk about missing heads,” Eddie said with a disgusted look.

“I believe that’s what we’re doing right now, Spaghetti.”

“You’re wrong, Tozier.”

“I’m never wrong.”

Eddie turned his head to make sure Richie saw his raised eyebrow only to realize that they were closer than he thought. Richie’s face was only a few inches away from his and, this time, it was entirely Eddie’s fault.

“It looks good,” he said, starting to scoot away and out of the booth.

“Wait, you have to watch the whole thing,” Richie said, catching his sleeve. “I finished it.”

Eddie nodded, shifting back over as Richie turned the computer to face him. He felt Richie’s eyes on him, not the computer, as he watched the final product. It was good. Really good. It flowed much better than the first and even Eddie could hear how drastically different he sounded since he wasn’t as nervous. Once the video ended, Richie looked at him hopefully for a reaction.

“It’s great, Rich,” Eddie said with a nod.

Richie looked happy, turning towards the computer to send the completed video off to their boss so that it could be approved and posted on Monday. Eddie could have slid out of the booth and gone back to his side but he hesitated.

“Hey,” he said, turning his head to look at Richie.

“Hmm?”

It took a minute but Richie finally looked over at him, blinking from behind his glasses. Eddie had seen him in contacts too. There didn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to which he decided to wear, just like there didn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to Richie Tozier at all.

“Eds?”

With a hard swallow, Eddie realized that he’d been staring for a few long moments.

“I never said thank you,” he blurted out.

Richie was taken off-guard by the gratitude, his eyes darting over Eddie’s face before looking to the table.

“For… breakfast?” he asked, glancing back at him.

Eddie shook his head.

“You had something else in mind when you came up with this series,” he said, gesturing to Richie’s computer. “You didn’t have to change it because of me.”

“Course I did, Eds,” Richie said simply, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

It was on the tip of his tongue to ask why but Eddie wasn’t sure he was willing to open that particular can of worms. He wasn’t even sure what existed in that can, but he was damn sure that he wasn’t ready to know either. Before he could go back to his side of the booth, the waitress brought over a fresh coffee pot to fill their cups.

“How are you boys doing?” she asked kindly, looking down at them with an amused expression as she poured out the dark, steaming liquid.

Eddie’s cheeks filled with color as he realized that she was reacting to his change in seating. But Richie tossed an arm over his shoulders and grinned up at the waitress, looking entirely unbothered.

“We’re just peachy, Miss Linda,” he said, briefly reading off of her nametag. “This is the best fucking breakfast I’ve had since moving to this old city.”

“Richie,” Eddie hissed, driving an elbow into his side as he laughed.

“It’s just fine, dear,” Linda said, looking unbothered by Richie’s cursing as she laid their bill on the table. “Your man is charming enough to make up for it. I’m sure glad you enjoyed the food.”

Eddie’s face grew even hotter at the implication in her words but his words all caught in his throat as she winked at them and turned away.

“You hear that Spaghetti? I’m charming,” Richie bragged, saving the progress on the video he made before sending it on to their supervisor to be checked over.

“She’s probably just angling for a tip, Trashmouth,” Eddie muttered, highly aware of Richie’s arm still draped over his shoulders.

“Well she is sure as hell gonna get one,” he said, digging in his pocket without pulling away from Eddie before handing over his wallet. “Get some cash out, would ya? I’ve gotta think of something funny to say to the boss man.”

Eddie took his wallet, opening it without thinking.

“Yeah, cause Mr. Wilson has a wild sense of humor,” he said dryly.

Richie snorted, typing away with just one hand.

“Don’t go doubting me now, Eds. I could make the Queen of England laugh if I wanted,” he said.

“You could not,” Eddie said with a scoff, tossing Richie's wallet back into his lap.

“I bet you one hundred bucks I could.”

“Sure, Rich. If you ever actually get close enough to the Queen of England to tell her a joke and actually manage to make her laugh, I’ll pay you one hundred bucks.”

“Shake on it,” Richie said.

Then he full on spat in his palm and held it out to Eddie, who immediately shuddered away from him.

“That’s disgusting,” he said, shoving Richie’s hand away before the glob of spit could drip onto his leg.

Richie laughed boisterously as Eddie finally stood out of the bench, reaching out to grab his coat from the other side of the booth.

“C’mon, baby. Show some love for your man,” Richie said, holding his arms out while making kissing noises.

Eddie glared at him, flipping the collar of his jacket down before shoving his hands in the pockets.

“Not in a million years.”

With that, he turned to walk out of the diner.

“Don’t leave me, honey cakes!” Richie called out loud enough that everyone had to hear him.

Eddie wanted to dig a hole and never come out at that point. Of course Richie caught up to him before he could actually make it to the door, pushing it open and lowering into a bow as Eddie walked through.

“Princess,” he said with a shit-eating grin.

“You’re so fucking loud,” Eddie complained, starting the walk towards Flatbush.

“You love me anyway,” Richie said, tossing his arm around Eddie’s shoulders without a care in the world.

He didn’t duck away, rolling his eyes as he walked in step with Richie.

“I tolerate you,” Eddie corrected him half-heartedly.

“Keep telling yourself that,” Richie said.

He started whistling before Eddie could fire back with another snarky response. It didn’t take long, though, for him to begin talking at a mile a minute. And Eddie, in spite of himself, couldn’t help but be drawn in by the sheer magnetism that Richie Tozier possessed. He wasn’t about to start really considering what that said about him.

* * *

“Something weird is going on with Richie.”

Eddie was leaning against Bill’s desk, his arms crossed over his chest and a frown on his face. He was staring across the floor where Richie and Bev were cutting up by her desk, both laughing loud enough that it carried to his ears. It was Wednesday, which meant that Eddie had been sitting on all of this for days and he needed to talk to someone about it.

“It’s Ri-Richie,” Bill said, shrugging without taking his eyes off the screen. “I’d be worried if he was acting normal.”

Eddie tugged at his lower lip with his teeth and didn’t say anything long enough for Bill to notice and finally look up at him.

“Eddie?”

Eddie met his gaze warily, releasing his lip with a sigh.

“It’s not just Richie,” he said, rubbing a little at his forehead. “It’s-”

“Edward Kaspbrak!”

Richie’s voice boomed across the floor, drawing not just Eddie’s attention but the attention of every single other person in the room.

“I hate him,” he muttered under his breath, shooting daggers Richie’s way as the taller man weaved his way through the desks to get to him.

Beverly was snickering behind her hand, always entertained by Richie’s antics as long as they didn’t bother her too much.

“Do you?”

Bill’s voice was serious and Eddie glanced at him again to see that Bill was studying him. It was as if he was seeing what Eddie was trying to say without actually being told. Eddie opened his mouth to answer, even though he wasn’t sure what he’d say, but Richie reached him before he could even come up with anything.

“What on earth did you do, young man?” Richie asked, wagging a finger at him.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Eddie frowned at him.

Richie did his best to look aghast, pressing a hand to his cheek as he shook his head slowly.

“Well I can certainly see why we’re being called to the principal’s office,” he said, adopting the voice of a southern middle-aged woman talking to her unruly children. “You are quite the troublemaker, aren’t you?”

Eddie narrowed his eyes.

“You’re an idiot,” he said.

“Oh don’t worry, sweet pea. I’ll find a way to punish you on the way to the boss’s office. It’ll be good for both of us,” Richie winked at him.

“Ugh!”

Eddie turned away from him, realizing now that Richie was very dramatically and stupidly trying to tell him that they’d received a summons to Mr. Wilson’s office. He knew that Richie was following without look.

“What do you think it’s about?” Eddie asked seriously.

“Maybe he wants to guest star on the show,” Richie suggested.

He didn’t bother asking if Richie could ever actually be serious. He already knew the answer. When they knocked on Mr. Wilson’s door, his gruff voice called out for them to enter. Their supervisor was there along with a few other leaders of the entertainment division.

“Mr. Tozier, Mr. Kaspbrak,” a man that Eddie never even met before said with a nod, grinning at both of them.

“Hello,” Eddie said politely.

“We’re gonna get right down to it, boys,” Mr. Wilson said, always unwilling to beat around the bush. “Your show is the most popular thing we’ve got going on around here at the moment and the big wigs here want to make it a little bigger.”

Eddie and Richie exchanged confused looks.

“We’ve only done two episodes,” Richie said.

“They’re averaging nearly five hundred thousand views already and the comments are overwhelmingly positive. If we start promoting the episodes more on social media, the number of views will be in the millions and the advertisers are definitely going to take notice,” another of the men said, looking happy. “With just a few improvements, your series could be the flagship of a whole new sector of Buzzfeed entertainment. We could build an entire brand around you two.”

Eddie swallowed hard, feeling the slightest bit of panic seeping into his chest.

“What improvements?” he asked, his voice just a little higher than usual.

“You take the show on the road every few episodes. Find an unsolved case that happened within the continental United States and actually go to the scene of the crime. Film what you experience. Bring on some guests every once in a while. Not a drastic expansion. Just a little bit bigger.”

Eddie pressed his lips together, trying to level his breathing while waiting to hear what Richie would say.

“That’s…” Richie trailed off, sounding torn between uncertainty and delight. “That’s awesome but-”

He glanced Eddie’s way and their eyes met. Suddenly Eddie knew exactly why he was hesitating. It was for him.

_“You had something else in mind when you came up with this series. You didn’t have to change it because of me.”_

“Eds, what do you think?” Richie asked.

_“Course I did, Eds.”_

Eddie stared back at him as two separate things suddenly dawned on him. It turned out that he didn’t need to talk to Big Bill after all.

First, he couldn’t bring himself to resist the hopeful light in those dark eyes.

Second, the reason behind the first, Eddie was falling for Richie and it was happening hard and fast.

“I think it’s a really good idea,” Eddie said, his voice surprisingly even.

He couldn’t bring himself to even focus on the other people in the room. Not when Richie’s eyes lit up even more and a grin formed on his lips.

Fuck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would love to hear what you think!
> 
> Richie and Eddie go on the road in the next chapter.


End file.
